A bib is commonly referred to as a small piece of material that is positioned to hang from a person's neck, under a person's chin, and onto the wearer's chest area. Bibs help protect clothing, especially, while eating or drinking. Bibs are typically used while feeding infants, toddlers and small children. However, the use of bibs among adults is also present, especially, when they might be in a position to spill or splatter food onto their clothing. This could occur for a variety of reasons, such as, being disabled, due to age, during recovery from trauma, to name a few.
Conventional bibs typically have two strings which tie around the neck to hold the bib in place. Other bibs use snaps, ties, strings, hook and loop fasteners, or the like to attach around the neck. More recently, some bibs have eliminated the strings and ties altogether and have instead used adhesive strips or Velcro. These strips are located near the shoulder area on the backside of the bib and are used to securely adhere the bib to the wearer.
As is commonly known, bibs are usually worn during the feeding of infants and toddlers, however, bibs are also sometimes worn during the feeding of adults, especially, in a nursing home setting or for a variety of other reasons. With some infants and toddlers, it is not unusual to have to change their bibs up to say, 10 to 15 times a day, not only because of the food which drips upon the bib, but because they are teething or just tend to drool a lot of the time. As will be appreciated, such regular changing of bibs is necessary in order to keep the infant's or toddler's underclothes dry and to keep the infant or toddler from becoming unduly wet. This is particularly important in cold weather locations. Because infants and toddlers tend to teethe for many months, beyond one-year of age, the situation becomes quite frustrating for a mother to continue to have to wash the infant's or toddler's clothes and body over-and-over again because of the limited protection that conventional bibs offer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,099 (Robert J. Mack), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a disposable limited reusable bib comprising a sheet of non-woven hydrophobic material having a weight of from 20 grams to 100 grams per square yard and having a plurality of projecting nubbins for simulating a terrycloth appearance for facilitating wiping and food catching.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,271 (Andrew Barber McLandrich), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a disposable protective bib comprising a generally rectangular sheet of flexible, liquid-impervious material. The bib has a top portion comprising a yoke to accommodate the user's neck and a bottom portion comprising at least one fastening element for securing the bib to a table. The bib forms a pocket between the wearer and the table to catch food and beverages that may be spilled. The yoke comprises at least one perforated tear section to release the bib from the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,269,858 (Deborah V. Rothschild), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a reversible, multi-purpose bib exhibiting a polyester layer on one side for use in absorbing drool, a vinyl layer on an opposing side for use when feeding solid food, and a removable overlying cotton or cotton polyester blend layer atop the vinyl layer for use when formula feeding.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,257 (Frank Friedland, et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a bib for protecting clothing and includes a sheet having front and back surfaces, an adhesive strip located on the back surface of the sheet and configured and dimensioned for adhering the sheet to the wearer, and a sealed package attached to the sheet. The sealed package includes at least one towelette configured and dimensioned for cleansing.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,749 (Edward McCloskey, et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a disposable dribble bib for babies comprising a shaped panel of non-woven cotton material. The bib has an outer face and an inner face each of which has a hairy surface formed by cotton fibers which when the bib is placed on a garment will attach and hold the bib on the garment. The bib is simple and cheap to manufacture and is double sided, that is it can be used either way round with either the outer face or inner face engaging the garment. A neck-receiving recess is provided at an upper end of the bib.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2001/0047532 (A. Leslie Marrero), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a disposable bib, comprising a liquid-permeable top layer (18), an absorbent inner-core (20), a waterproof, air-permeable back layer (22). Each layer is configured to provide an apron (10), while the top and back layers continue to flow in continuous format to provide a C shaped collar (12). An adhesive bond (24) is provided throughout the bib to adhere each layer, one to another, and configured within the apron (10) to provide a cross-stitch pattern equivalent to quilting, to aid in controlling the expansion of the absorbent inner-core. The bib is preferably constructed from biodegradable materials.
Even with these improvements, a need exists for an improved bib and a bib liner.
Additionally, a need also exists for an improved bib liner or a bib protector.
A need also exists for a bib liner that is disposable.
Furthermore, a need also exists for a bib liner that can be attached and detached to any bib and is reusable.
This invention overcomes the problems of the prior art. The invention provides a bib liner that protects a user from getting wet from fluid spills and the like.